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CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A Clay County woman who is accused of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer following an alleged shootout on Tuesday is a school district employee who is currently under investigation after she was accused of improper use of school funds.
Tammy Saucier, 51, faces five counts of attempted murder of a deputy and is being held on no bond.
The Clay County School District said earlier this month an internal auditor and Clay County District Schools Police Department launched an investigation into allegations regarding Saucier’s improper use of school funds. Saucier was working as the principal’s secretary and bookkeeper at Doctors Inlet Elementary.
The district said Saucier was suspended while the investigation was underway.
Saucier was taken into custody Tuesday morning after deputies said she was involved in a shooting at the Holly Hill Cemetery on Old Jennings Road.
“I was really shocked to see or hear that it was her,” neighbor Peter Day said. “It’s just bad. I’m shocked all the way around.”
Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook said deputies responded to at least two separate notifications about Saucier who may have been experiencing a mental health crisis. A school resource officer at Doctors Inlet requested a well-being check after Saucier made suicidal statements, according to deputies.
Deputies said they found Saucier driving recklessly from the Oak Leaf area toward Middleburg, including running a red light and driving into oncoming traffic.
Cook said after a short pursuit, Saucier ended up at the Holly Hill Cemetery and one of the deputies who is a friend of the woman, attempted to de-escalate the situation. Saucier told the deputies that she had a gun and she was drinking what appeared to be alcohol, according to CCSO.
Cook said at some point during the negotiations, she fired a round inside the vehicle in an unknown direction and at least one round toward the deputies. The deputies then returned fire and Saucier was hit in the hand and she dropped her gun, deputies said. Cook said no deputies were hurt.
Saucier remained in the car as the deputies continued to try to de-escalate while they waited for negotiators and SWAT to arrive. She then told the deputies that she wanted a pack of cigarettes so they used a ballistic shield to approach her vehicle to drop it off.
When she stepped out of the car to get the cigarettes, deputies said they shot her in the back with a non-lethal weapon before they tackled her to the ground. Clay County Fire and Rescue began treating her and she was taken to an Orange Park hospital.
Retired JSO Director Tom Hackney weighed in on the deputy’s response.
“It adds a layer of difficulty to it because a lot of these cemeteries are wide open spaces and it doesn’t leave a lot of protective spaces for responding officers or when it reaches the SWAT Team. It just adds that layer of complication to it and makes communication a little more difficult,” he said.
A Ruger .380 pistol was found near the car door containing four live rounds, deputies said.
The school district also issued a statement:
Earlier in the month, our internal auditor and Clay County District Schools Police Department launched an investigation into allegations regarding an employee’s improper use of school funds. The District took immediate action, and suspended the employee while the investigation is underway.
Cook said they called the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the state attorney’s office and they are still investigating.
Saucier is set to appear in a Clay County court on Friday.
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